Ganner Rhysode
Ganner Rhysode was an esteemed human male Jedi Knight of the New Jedi Order. Born on Teyr in 9 BBY, Rhysode grew up harboring a deep wish to be a hero, and was consequently brash, self-confident, and flamboyant. Sometime after joining the New Jedi Order, he became a supporter of the Jedi Kyp Durron's faction of the Order, who supported aggressive action against the Yuuzhan Vong species when they invaded the galaxy. Early in the invasion, he worked with the Jedi Corran Horn, whom he disliked, and on their mission to the planet Garqi received a prominent facial wound. Rhysode blamed his overconfidence for his injury, and left the scar of the wound as a reminder to be more humble. With his changed attitude, Rhysode continued battling on the front lines of the Yuuzhan Vong War, serving as the decoy leader of the ill-fated Myrkr strike team in 29 ABY. One year later, Rhysode tracked down the Jedi Jacen Solo, who had gone missing on the mission to Myrkr and was feared dead. He was seized by Solo's Yuuzhan Vong captors and taken back to the planet Coruscant for a sacrifice. Instead, he finally came to peace with his desire to be a hero, channeling his showmanlike instincts into a self-sacrificing delaying action, becoming one with the Force while holding off hundreds of Yuuzhan Vong Warriors himself at the entrance to the Well of the World Brain while Solo sabotaged the World Brain and escaped back to the New Republic. According to a vision experienced by Solo's tutor Yoder Minch, Rhysode's last stand led him to become a legend among the Yuuzhan Vong warrior caste as well as the Shamed Ones and their Jeedai heresy, in which he became an epic, invincible figure known as the Ganner. In 44 ABY, Grand Master Luke Skywalker saw Rhysode's spirit in the Lake of Apparitions in the realm of the Force beyond shadows. Biography Early years Ganner Rhysode was born on 9 BBY and a native of Teyr where he was brought up with his younger brother Aldrich. He possessed a higher degree of sensitivity to the Force and liked attempting to impress his playmates as a child, but received only scorn in return. His parents counseled him to be less proud of himself, but he did not listen. He was eventually recruited to attend the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4, where he developed his talents as a Jedi, developing a special skill for telekinesis and building his own yellow lightsaber.The New Jedi Order Sourcebook'' Rhysode was considered among the more promising emergent Jedi and had reached the rank of Jedi Knight by 15 ABY, as he and friend Wurth Skidder were left in charge of the Praxeum while headmasters Kam and Tionne Solusar attended Jedi Master Luke Skywalker's wedding to Mara Jade. Rhysode found himself captivated to Jedi Master Kyp Durron's faction of Jedi, who believed in aggressively taking the battle to threats to peace in the galaxy, using the Force as a tool to fight injustice. This philosophy appealed to Rhysode, who had great confidence in himself and his own power. He took to wearing flashy black-and-blue robes and taking special care of his appearance, cultivating his natural good looks. He saw himself as one of the foremost of a new generation of Jedi Knights who would deliver justice without being held back in their use of the Force, considering himself superior to the older generation. The emergence of the extragalactic Yuuzhan Vong in 25 ABY, invaders who used biologically-based technology, clung fiercely to their warlike religion, and did not register in the Force, provided an opportunity for Rhysode and Durron's other supporters to press for harsh action against the invaders. Rhysode, still a relatively young Jedi Knight, was present at the conclave Skywalker called on Yavin 4 to deal with the issue of the Yuuzhan Vong after their first attack had been repulsed. He stood among Durron's faction as Skywalker discussed the threat and spoke of his desire to create an organized response. Mission to Bimmiel After the meeting, Skywalker assigned Rhysode to travel to Bimmiel, an uninhabited world in the Yuuzhan Vong invasion corridor, and look into the case of a University of Agamar xenoarchaeological team which had lost contact with their superiors. He was to be paired with Corran Horn, which greatly displeased Rhysode, the other Knight was one of the strongest opponents of Durron's faction and Rhysode had little respect for him, seeing him as weak-willed. Rhysode met with Horn in a courtyard outside, where he told Horn that he rejected the senior Knight's authority on the mission and would do what he thought was necessary. Horn reproached him for putting his philosophy above the mission, and the conversation broke up when Rhysode found himself swarmed by garnants, set upon him by Horn's son Valin as the boy had left earlier. A quick shower cleaned Rhysode of the garnants and allowed him to set off for Bimmiel with Horn in the freighter Dalliance. Arriving in orbit, they found the group's communication satellite damaged and inoperable, but Rhysode could find no sign of the Yuuzhan Vong. They landed in an open, cool desert predominated by fiercely blowing sand, though Rhysode shielded himself from the airborne dust with a Force barrier. The pair trudged to the camp, but on arriving there found it abandoned. They moved on toward a rocky outcropping where they thought the team might have taken refuge, but before they reached it were attacked by the native slashrats, which burrowed through the sand to leap out and strike. They fled faster to the rocks, killing the slashrats as they attacked. Upon reaching the rocks, they were greeted by the rather hostile students and their professor, Anki Pace. Pace explained that Jedi-related items had recently been stolen from numerous sites and she suspected the Jedi of being after her find. Rhysode was indignant at the implication that Jedi would steal, and with Horn he was able to convince the university team that they were there to make sure they were safe. Though Pace did not trust Rhysode to see their find, she displayed it to Horn, who recognized the body they had recovered as the fifty-year-old remains of a Yuuzhan Vong. The Jedi remained with the team, trapped there by the sand gales. At night, they alternated watches at the mouth of the cave the students were staying in, keeping an eye out for slashrats. While there, Rhysode struck up a relationship with Trista Orlanis, one of the graduate students. This may have resulted in the birth of his son Kameron. After the week of storms had died down, Rhysode and Horn went on a scouting mission, as Horn was convinced the Yuuzhan Vong were on the planet, possibly to recover the remains of the advance scout whose corpse had been found. They managed to find a Yuuzhan Vong camp, in which they could sense individuals who seemed to be dying. They sneaked along the perimeter of the camp until one of the slaves attempted an escape. Rhysode watched as a pair of Yuuzhan Vong beat the slave and prepared to come to the rescue, but Horn used his talent for projecting thoughts to cripple Rhysode with the smell of the stink produced by dead slashrats, making him sick. When the two warriors killed the slave, Horn and Rhysode retreated. Rhysode was furious that they had watched a man die, but Horn was convinced that any rescue attempt would only get the Jedi killed by what was possibly a greater number of Yuuzhan Vong and possibly lead the enemy back to the students. Rhysode remained unconvinced and resentful. The next day, the students had the results of the analysis they had performed on the beetles Horn had brought back from the Yuuzhan Vong site. They found that one of them was creating synthetic stink, keeping the slashrats away from the camp. Another was producing carbon dioxide, altering the atmosphere. Horn wanted the students to introduce a virus that would make the beetles at the camp produce slashrat killscent, causing a feeding frenzy. Pace disapproved, insisting they were only academics and would not become involved in fighting. Rhysode backed them, suggesting he and Horn eliminate the Yuuzhan Vong themselves, in combat. While discussing it, the two Jedi realized two people were missing from the campsite, and Orlanis explained that two students had left to maintain a piece of equipment outside the camp. When Pace attempted to contact them, they could not be reached, and the Jedi immediately began a search for them. At the meteorological station they had left to repair, Horn and Rhysode found signs of a struggle and additional tracks leading back toward the Yuuzhan Vong camp. They then maintained a watch on the camp for several days, watching as the aliens searched for what were most likely the remains the archaeologists had found. They also found that the two warriors they had seen did seem to be the only ones present aside from the slaves, who were all dying and diminishing in the Force. Rhysode felt vindicated by this discovery, showing that his desire to attack the two Yuuzhan Vong initially would have saved everyone trouble, and continually reminded Horn of it. In short order, they formed a plan in which Rhysode and Horn would free the students while Orlanis piloted the Dalliance to extract them and lace the camp with the virus and a large amount of synthetic killscent. When they were ready, they had one of the students distract the two warriors with a remote probe, drawing them away from the camp. Rhysode and Horn rushed in, finding the pair inside the largest grashal hut strapped to the torturous Embrace of Pain. When Horn realized that the Embrace kept them in a constant level of pain, he noted that the slightest mistake in freeing them could result in the Embrace inflicting enough compensatory pain to kill them. Instead, Horn used his ability to project feelings to instill the two with a sense of pain, relaxing the Embrace without actually hurting them. To do so, Horn had Rhysode singe his arm with his lightsaber, giving Horn the sense of pain to project. It worked, allowing them to cut cleanly through the restraints, but before they could leave the two Yuuzhan Vong returned at the same time Orlanis dumped the killscent. Horn, his arm damaged, offered to stay behind while Rhysode cut an exit through the back and used telekinesis to float the students out. He did so, but instead of leaving, he had Orlanis shoot the top off the grashal while he levitated Horn out and safely escaped with the entire team. Horn had been wounded and was suffering from the venom of an amphistaff bite, and only putting him in the Dalliance bacta tank saved his life. Personality and traits Ganner Rhysode was extremely confident in his own power, especially his skill with telekinesis, and in his combat prowess. Also contributing to his self-confidence was the fact that he was tall, muscular, and considered good-looking by the opposite sex. He was very aware of this and took pains to maintain a striking appearance in order to show an impressive face for the Jedi Order, though it also fed his own ego. He longed to be a hero, a swashbuckling Jedi, and eventually became consumed by the desire to be thought a hero. He had desired to impress others since his childhood, though this was met with the mockery of his playground companions, fueling that desire yet more. He saw himself as part of a new generation of more powerful, less-inhibited Jedi who would deliver justice, in line with Kyp Durron's faction early in the Yuuzhan Vong War, looking down on the older Jedi as weak and inexperienced. He was eager to take the war to the Yuuzhan Vong and drive them out of the galaxy. Despite Rhysode's abrasively superior manner, he did set others at ease with his strong aura of competence. Rhysode was flirtatious, but frequently used his flirting as a defensive mechanism to conceal deeper thoughts. The mission to Garqi, however, radically changed Rhysode's outlook. He realized that he had been overestimating himself and underestimating his opponents, and worked hard to reduce his pride. He also revised his opinion of the older Jedi upward, accepting they were wiser than he had given them credit for being. His scar provided a constant reminder to maintain humility. Where he had once looked down on Corran Horn, he began to respect the Jedi as a friend capable of showing him wisdom. He did continue to struggle with his ego, however much he tried to be humble. He began mistrusting Durron's faction and its motives, though he was able to continue working with Durron. Rhysode eventually decided to change his appearance, finally putting aside his flashy clothes and growing a scruffy beard in a conscious effort to reduce his vanity, an issue with which he still struggled. In his final sacrifice at the Well of the World Brain, Rhysode came to terms with his desire to be a hero, and instead of denying it, embraced it and used it to make an epic last stand in which he was able to become one with the Force. Powers and abilities Rhysode had a special talent for telekinesis and a casual approach to use of the Force, causing him to frequently display his mastery of it. He was also skilled in the use of mind tricks, and had some proficiency in using the Force to make himself less noticeable. He was capable of using the Force to create a barrier and manipulating that barrier with great finesse, going so far as to create a body-hugging Force bubble around himself to keep the blowing sand off him on Bimmiel. His danger sense, however, was weak. Appearances *''Star Wars: Union'' *''Star Wars: Onslaught'' *''Star Wars: Ruin'' *''Star Wars: Hero's Trial'' *''Star Wars: Jedi Eclipse'' *''Star Wars: Star by Star'' *''Star Wars: Dark Journey'' *''Star Wars: Rebel Dream'' *''Star Wars: Rebel Stand'' *''Star Wars: Traitor'' *''Star Wars: Destiny's Way'' *''Star Wars: Remnant'' *''Star Wars: Refugee'' *''Star Wars: Reunion'' *''Star Wars: The Unifying Force'' *''Star Wars: The Joiner King'' *''Star Wars: Apocalypse'' }} Notes and references Category:Humans Category:Males Category:Inhabitants of Teyr Category:Inhabitants of Coruscant Category:Jedi Knights of the New Jedi Order Category:Healers and doctors Category:Pilots Category:Kyp's Dozen personnel Category:Yuuzhan Vong deities Category:Force-sensitives